Deputy President of the Senate ,Ovie Omo-Agege has said that there was need to join hands to work out an electoral system that would not only agree with global best practice, but would make Nigeria a stronger nation.
According to him, no matter how good the clauses are in the electoral laws,if the other aspects of the electioneering process are flawed,the electoral process itself will ultimately be flawed.
Omo-Agege, represented by the Special Adviser on Legal and Constitutional Matters, Dr Daniel Bwala ,said this at the Public Presentation and Inaugural Meeting organized by the Electoral Hub in Abuja.
Omo-Agege said that the obvious preference for direct primaries, for example would have a strong salutary consequence on the challenges of dealing with select delegates at primaries, which had been a sore point in our electioneering process.
Also, the National Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission ,(INEC) Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, explained that the launch of the forum would enrich knowledge and enhance understanding of the electoral process in Nigeria and serve as reference point for political parties and voters.
She said that recently ,INEC conducted the expansion of polling units creating an additional 57,023 units across the country bringing the total units to 176,996 adding that the aim was to bring the voting process closer to the people .
Also, the Chairman, the Electoral Forum and Professor, Wits School of Governance Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi said the world over it was believed that interacting with such class of people would help in improving the quality of governance ,elections and democracy.
He said that issues of electoral integrity had continued to plague Nigeria so there was need to commit to working by ensuring electoral integrity so citizens could reap the dividends of democracy .
Director, IRIAD, The Electoral Hub, Ms Princess Hamman-Obels, said that the hub conceptualised the Electoral Forum as a way to pool resource persons from electoral management bodies together with other electoral stakeholders.
She said with support from OSIWA,the forum has been established under the chairmanship of Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi ,there are other caliber practitioners.
